GregHowley.com

Too Much Suspense...

October 10, 2006 -

...can be a bad thing. There's been a nagging feeling I've had for a while now, in regards to the last two years or so of television. Two years ago I started watching a number of shows which are currently my favorites. But the idea didn't congeal in me until just recently when I saw the season three premiere of Lost, where I realized just how many unanswered questions existed. Also, this past week Linda and I finished watching Surface, an incredible show I wish I'd known about sooner. Well, Surface was cancelled after the first season. On a huge cliffhanger.

Having seen that, I've asked myself... Are there ever any solid resolutions in any of these shows? Honestly, is there a show where all the plot threads have been thoroughly resolved before the show is cancelled? Where a series finale gives a good payoff and a sense of completion? Surface was cancelled before we got to that point. Farscape was cancelled before we got to that point. Firefly was cancelled before we got to that point. At least Farscape and Firefly had movies made which tied things up. Is it too much to hope for that after another couple seasons we'll have satisfactory conclusions to Lost and The 4400? Will Battlestar Galactica ever reach the conclusion of its story arc? Will the colonials reach Earth?

And all the new shows too. Heroes is solidly amongst my favorites after only three episodes, falling in just behind Battlestar Galactica and The 4400 and just ahead of Lost. Will NBC cancel Heroes after the first season? Will Jericho begin to answer at least some questions before I lose interest entirely? I suppose that only time will tell, but I'm getting a bit tired of endless cliffhangers.

Comments on Too Much Suspense...
 
Comment Tue, October 10 - 7:09 PM by tagger
Call a few million of your closest friends

Watch the commercials

Buy the whatever-they-are-selling

The show will stay on

Simple
 
Comment Tue, October 10 - 8:10 PM by pmd
Story Arcs...

I like small story arcs with a *few* larger ones that continue for about a season. Lately, most shows that I watch tend to have epic story arcs. It's getting so bad that they've started airing season recaps.

Now these story arcs are getting bigger and branching into Webisodes, Books, Fake Web pages, etc.

This is why I still like Doctor Who so much. The stories are largely self contained. Yea, it helps to watch frequently... but you don't have to. Heck, if you don't like the cast... wait a few episodes. :)

 
Comment Tue, October 10 - 8:27 PM by Magus2
Anime has this problem in spades. There are some series where you are lucky to have any idea what is going on much less how things might tie up if they were to ever try. Lain is a great example. Not that I don't enjoy them, I just accept that I'm not going to have all the answers. As far as American TV, at least they told us how John Doe was going to turn out, years after it was cancelled.